The Daily 3: 3 ways you can work in a holiday workout

Happy Thursday, and welcome to The Heart Beat blog. We don't want you to leave without knowing a little more about how to improve your heart health.

Today, we're focusing on working out during the holidays...which can be a tough thing to do, unless you adopt some of the advice below...

Take advantage of the family
gathering: So, you can barely stay in the same room with your family, right?
That's fine...we've all been there. In that case, why not take the family
outdoors and go on a long walk? Or, divide up into teams for a little hoops
action or touch football? Make exercising a group activity when you're amongst
family during the holidays!

View full sizeIf you're eating this...or something made with this...you need to make exercise a priority.Wikimedia Commons

Go for a pre-dinner walk/run: Exercising during the holidays isn't weird. Some instigators
out there may try and make you feel weird for doing it, but that's their
problem. You need exercise during this time of year...what with the stress and
the trend toward higher calorie meals. Now, we all know that if you wait until
after the turkey dinner to get moving, you're never going to summon the
motivation to lace up those sneakers. Instead, go for a walk or run before
dinner.

Have a yard work workout: Raking leaves, gardening, shoveling snow...those are all
activities that can raise your heart rate to typical exercise levels. If you just
can't stomach the idea of running or walking during the holidays, then how
about doing some work around the house (or in the house). Whatever keeps you
active and moving, opt for that. Something is better than nothing, and small
efforts can lead to big results!

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